The full 100%

When Noah looked up at her he said, "Oh Olivia, you are here as well. I am sorry I didn't know you had come to visit." Hearing this, Laila was happy that her back was facing the two of them as she couldn't hold back her laughter at the sound of the woman's ego shattering. In her mind Laila thought to herself 'Good going Noah!' To worsen the blow, Noah didn't pay the woman, who she now knew was named Olivia, any attention. Instead he walked straight to where she was 'sleeping' and the words he spoke to her were all about Laila. "I am glad you came to visit Laila. She hasn't been feeling well. So, having a friendly face around will do her good as I am too busy to keep her as much company as I would like to."

Laila could already imagine the forced smile Olivia put on her face as she said the words that followed. "No, not at all. In fact, you can call me anytime if you are worried about Laila and want someone to stay with her over here." Laila heard Olivia coming closer and what she thought was her hand landing on Noah's arm or shoulder. Where Laila was glad she was turned away when she needed to laugh, she was bummed that she had her back to the two of them now. If she was facing them, she could have at least peeked a little. Now she had to imagine what was happening instead of knowing what was going on for sure. After the sound, Laila heard Olivia say, "Of course you can also call me if you just need a listening ear." This sentence was followed by a fake laugh as the woman tried to play it off as a joke, before she added in a concerned tone "It can't be easy having such a busy job and taking care of your pregnant wife at home as well."

Laila of course also heard these words and her breath stopped as she waited for Noah's answer. Though Olivia's words made her angry, she only cared about what Noah would say, how he would handle a situation like this. Of course she trusted Noah for the full 100% but her previous life had made her a bit fearful and not knowing anything about the past 10 - 15 years or so of her current life, didn't help matters either. For all she knew, Noah had changed during that time as she had too judging by the words that had been said by Giselle and Gretchen.

But when Noah finally spoke, after what seemed like the longest moment of silence ever, he proved that Laila's fears were unfounded and unnecessary. Laila heard Noah say, "That is okay. I am sure you women can discuss that amongst yourselves. No need to get husbands involved in when two friends meet up. As long as you can be there for her and keep her company from time to time while I am away at work, that is all the help I will need from you. If I need a listening ear or support, I am sure I can still turn to my wife for that. Pregnant or not. And taking care of her is something I enjoy doing and I don't consider it to be hard at all. So, there is no need to worry yourself about me. We should both just focus on her and then all should be good."

Laila felt her heart grow warm and felt a smile grow on her face. It took all her strength to keep her face straight as Noah was just inches away as he was brushing her hair with his fingers and then lowered himself to place a kiss on top of her head. The reason for Laila's facial reaction to what had happened was of course because felt extremely happy at how Noah talked about her when he thought she wasn't listening. Aside from being very happy, she was also very content at how he had handled a woman, especially one as attractive and crafty like this, hitting on him. Though the woman Olivia had found a very good reason to contact Noah and have him contact her, Noah had rejected the offer. Avoiding even the chance of a misunderstanding on her part. A thing she had always wished was something Jake would do or at least consider as well before he acted.

Hearing Noah's rejection, Olivia responded with another fake, awkward laugh as she tried to play the whole thing off as something else. Making it seem like Noah had misunderstood her intentions. "Ha, ha, ha. Oh you silly man. Of course I know that you have Laila for those things but I just thought I would offer my listening ears as I can imagine that there might be things you don't want to worry her with. Or maybe you have things that you can't discuss with her or just want to vent about but could hurt Laila's feelings. Laila is my best friend. So, with you being her husband, I can't just turn a blind eye when I know that you might be struggling. What kind of friend would that make me?! All I want is for you to know that you are not alone and I can help out whenever you need and in whatever form."

This seemed to have done the trick for the always kind Noah, who was so sharp at most things but liked to believe in the good of other people as well. So, hearing that the potentially inappropriate words came from a place of concern over the person he thought they both cared for very much, his guard lowered a bit again as he exchanged some pleasantries with Olivia before quickly heading upstairs to get back to work.